Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn

Calif Bill <[email protected]> wrote:

[]
    > There are juice varieties and eating varieties. You normally see the eating
    > variety in the market.

Not in markets here though- they sometimes specifically sell oranges for
juicing, and yes, they're usually less 'presentable.'

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Deep Frayed Morgues

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 11:27:32 +0100, nitram <[email protected]> wrote:

    >On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 23:32:56 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
    ><deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
    >>My experience of London is less that 5 years old, but I have spent
    >>around half that time there.
    >>The produce is ****ING SHITE in quality. Head a few miles east to
    >>France, and the difference is enormous.
    >because you like Dutch food?

Good point!

Actually, Dutch food is weird stuff. Seems almost everything contains
dairy products, and the meaty stuff is usually heavily processed.

Gotta love haggelslag (sp?) though. I laugh everytime I see someone
trying to eat that with bread, and not make a hell of a mess!
--
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DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
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Deep Frayed Morgues

On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 23:45:03 +0000, [email protected]
(chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) wrote:

    >Deep Frayed Morgues <deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
    >[]
    >> The produce is ****ING SHITE in quality. Head a few miles east to
    >> France, and the difference is enormous.
    >Well, I've nothing invested in this, and it's no skin of my nose what
    >someone thinks about UK produce, but I still think this is just absurd,
    >and if you couldn't find decent produce in London, you just weren't
    >looking. Seriously. My local market has a variety of produce which is as
    >good as anything I've found anywhere else. While I can't claim to have
    >cooked dinner in every country I've visited, I nearly always visit
    >markets when I'm abroad- it's something that interests me.

In London I have bought produce in Chinatown, Camden market, Fulham
market, and in all the supermarkets around. I have never found a
decent tomato, and the capsicum peppers taste suspiciously like water.
Broccoli is rarely crisp, and also flavourless. Also, chicken is
usually packed full of water too, however that is achieved, I don't
know. Any decent cheese always comes from the continent too. Flavour
is usually conveyed with the use of heavy sauces, like mayonaise.

It just makes me so frustrated, because London attracts some of the
best chefs in the world, and has lots of varied international cuisine,
but without good quality basic ingredients, it's pointless. I have a
chef friend in London, and he says that the quality will never
improve, because the mass demand for good produce just isn't there.

    >To wit,
    >loquat bought in Rome (they call them nespole there IIRC) are the same
    >as 'nisperos' bought in a London market. (Yes, they gave them the
    >spanish name!) Besides, they probably come from the same place.

Possibly. From what I can work out, they are like an apricot, that
takes a long time to ripen.
--
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DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
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--

Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn

Deep Frayed Morgues <deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:

[]
    > In London I have bought produce in Chinatown, Camden market, Fulham
    > market, and in all the supermarkets around. I have never found a
    > decent tomato, and the capsicum peppers taste suspiciously like water.
    > Broccoli is rarely crisp, and also flavourless.

Well, this might quickly get pantomime-like, but I've not had a problem
finding decent tomatoes, peppers and broccoli in the past. It's
definitely the case that mass production has created a lot of bland
produce, but it would be really illogical to single London or the UK out
for that!

    > Also, chicken is
    > usually packed full of water too, however that is achieved, I don't
    > know.

It's easy to buy chicken that hasn't been treated that way. Even the
local Aldi store (hardly known as a gourmet outlet) sells
non-adulterated chicken. I think it's from Ireland, and it's very good
quality indeed. I served poussin last night- again unadulterated, and
easy to find here. Cheap, but delicious too.

    > Any decent cheese always comes from the continent too.

Then either you just don't like the many locally produced cheeses in the
UK or you haven't tried it. What have you tried? (I'm not talking
Tesco's Stilton or Cheddar.)

    > Flavour
    > is usually conveyed with the use of heavy sauces, like mayonaise.

?

[]
    > >To wit,
    > >loquat bought in Rome (they call them nespole there IIRC) are the same
    > >as 'nisperos' bought in a London market. (Yes, they gave them the
    > >spanish name!) Besides, they probably come from the same place.
    >
    > Possibly. From what I can work out, they are like an apricot, that
    > takes a long time to ripen.

No, the flesh is more like a lychee, but they're quite unique really.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Miguel Cruz

Deep Frayed Morgues <deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
    > Gotta love haggelslag (sp?) though. I laugh everytime I see someone
    > trying to eat that with bread, and not make a hell of a mess!

Some people (though it disgusts me beyond words) put butter on the bread
first to give it something to stick to. I find it easier to just get the
vlokjes instead - they have more surface area and they don't roll.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 32 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu

Jan

<snipped>

    > In London I have bought produce in Chinatown, Camden market, Fulham
    > market, and in all the supermarkets around. I have never found a
    > decent tomato, and the capsicum peppers taste suspiciously like water.
    > Broccoli is rarely crisp, and also flavourless. Also, chicken is
    > usually packed full of water too, however that is achieved, I don't
    > know. Any decent cheese always comes from the continent too. Flavour
    > is usually conveyed with the use of heavy sauces, like mayonaise.
    > It just makes me so frustrated, because London attracts some of the
    > best chefs in the world, and has lots of varied international cuisine,
    > but without good quality basic ingredients, it's pointless. I have a
    > chef friend in London, and he says that the quality will never
    > improve, because the mass demand for good produce just isn't there.
<snipped>


Try Borough Market near London Bridge Station.

Jan

B Vaughan

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 10:49:05 +0000, [email protected]
(chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) wrote:

    >Calif Bill <[email protected]> wrote:
    >[]
    >> There are juice varieties and eating varieties. You normally see the eating
    >> variety in the market.
    >Not in markets here though- they sometimes specifically sell oranges for
    >juicing, and yes, they're usually less 'presentable.'

I used to buy juice oranges in supermarkets in the US. Philadelphia
and New Jersey, specifically.

--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

B Vaughan

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 23:27:01 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:

    >>Barbara Vaughan said:
    >>> Some days you could buy sandwiches, fruit, and beverages in a
    >>> supermarket and eat on a park bench.
    >>I have never seen lower quality produce anywhere on Earth than what I
    >>saw for sale in London.

Actually I didn't say any of those things. Two attributions were
snipped by someone, as well as all of what I said.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn

B Vaughan <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 10:49:05 +0000, [email protected]
    > (chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) wrote:
    >
    > >Calif Bill <[email protected]> wrote:
    > >
    > >[]
    > >> There are juice varieties and eating varieties. You normally see the
    > >> eating variety in the market.
    > >
    > >Not in markets here though- they sometimes specifically sell oranges for
    > >juicing, and yes, they're usually less 'presentable.'
    >
    > I used to buy juice oranges in supermarkets in the US. Philadelphia
    > and New Jersey, specifically.

Me too! What was it called in Philadelphia... Super Fresh I think- the
smaller one near 5th and Pine!

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Nitram

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 14:15:58 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:

    >On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 23:45:03 +0000, [email protected]
    >(chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) wrote:
    >>Deep Frayed Morgues <deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
    >>[]
    >>> The produce is ****ING SHITE in quality. Head a few miles east to
    >>> France, and the difference is enormous.
    >>Well, I've nothing invested in this, and it's no skin of my nose what
    >>someone thinks about UK produce, but I still think this is just absurd,
    >>and if you couldn't find decent produce in London, you just weren't
    >>looking. Seriously. My local market has a variety of produce which is as
    >>good as anything I've found anywhere else. While I can't claim to have
    >>cooked dinner in every country I've visited, I nearly always visit
    >>markets when I'm abroad- it's something that interests me.
    >In London I have bought produce in Chinatown, Camden market, Fulham
    >market, and in all the supermarkets around. I have never found a
    >decent tomato, and the capsicum peppers taste suspiciously like water.
    >Broccoli is rarely crisp, and also flavourless. Also, chicken is
    >usually packed full of water too, however that is achieved, I don't
    >know.

It's injected with salts and mechanically massaged in tanks full of
water. Bacon and pork get the same treatment. Read "Not on the Label"
for more.

    >Any decent cheese always comes from the continent too.

That's not true. Define decent cheese.

So you already know that what you listed above is imported from the
Netherlands. You'll find exactly the same mass produced crap in
supermarkets all over Europe.

    >Flavour
    >is usually conveyed with the use of heavy sauces, like mayonaise.
    >It just makes me so frustrated, because London attracts some of the
    >best chefs in the world, and has lots of varied international cuisine,
    >but without good quality basic ingredients, it's pointless. I have a
    >chef friend in London, and he says that the quality will never
    >improve, because the mass demand for good produce just isn't there.

Where does he work? In McDs?

    >>To wit,
    >>loquat bought in Rome (they call them nespole there IIRC) are the same
    >>as 'nisperos' bought in a London market. (Yes, they gave them the
    >>spanish name!) Besides, they probably come from the same place.
    >Possibly. From what I can work out, they are like an apricot, that
    >takes a long time to ripen.

--
Martin

Deep Frayed Morgues

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 19:24:23 +0100, B Vaughan<[email protected]> wrote:

    >On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 23:27:01 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
    ><deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
    >>>Barbara Vaughan said:
    >>>> Some days you could buy sandwiches, fruit, and beverages in a
    >>>> supermarket and eat on a park bench.
    >>>I have never seen lower quality produce anywhere on Earth than what I
    >>>saw for sale in London.
    >Actually I didn't say any of those things. Two attributions were
    >snipped by someone, as well as all of what I said.

Somewhere the snipping went horribly wrong!
--
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DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
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--

Deep Frayed Morgues

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 23:16:35 +0100, nitram <[email protected]> wrote:

    >On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 14:15:58 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
    ><deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:

    >>Flavour
    >>is usually conveyed with the use of heavy sauces, like mayonaise.
    >>It just makes me so frustrated, because London attracts some of the
    >>best chefs in the world, and has lots of varied international cuisine,
    >>but without good quality basic ingredients, it's pointless. I have a
    >>chef friend in London, and he says that the quality will never
    >>improve, because the mass demand for good produce just isn't there.
    >Where does he work? In McDs?

Some high-class hotel called The Westbury, or something, in Mayfair.
He makes club sandwiches which clients get charged around £12 for.
--
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DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
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--

Nitram

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 15:02:22 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:

    >On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 23:16:35 +0100, nitram <[email protected]> wrote:
    >>On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 14:15:58 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
    >><deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
    >>>Flavour
    >>>is usually conveyed with the use of heavy sauces, like mayonaise.
    >>>It just makes me so frustrated, because London attracts some of the
    >>>best chefs in the world, and has lots of varied international cuisine,
    >>>but without good quality basic ingredients, it's pointless. I have a
    >>>chef friend in London, and he says that the quality will never
    >>>improve, because the mass demand for good produce just isn't there.
    >>Where does he work? In McDs?
    >Some high-class hotel called The Westbury, or something, in Mayfair.
    >He makes club sandwiches which clients get charged around £12 for.

Perhaps that gives him a unique perspective on what people want? :-)
--
Martin

Julie

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 14:15:58 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:

    >In London I have bought produce in Chinatown, Camden market, Fulham
    >market, and in all the supermarkets around. I have never found a
    >decent tomato, and the capsicum peppers taste suspiciously like water.
    >Broccoli is rarely crisp, and also flavourless. Also, chicken is
    >usually packed full of water too, however that is achieved, I don't
    >know.

It's injected. Try buying organic, free-range chicken from a decent
butcher and you'll really see the difference.

    >Any decent cheese always comes from the continent too.

So you've tried all 700+ cheeses produced in the UK?

    >It just makes me so frustrated, because London attracts some of the
    >best chefs in the world, and has lots of varied international cuisine,
    >but without good quality basic ingredients, it's pointless. I have a
    >chef friend in London, and he says that the quality will never
    >improve, because the mass demand for good produce just isn't there.

Try reading books such as the River Cafe cookbooks, and buy stuff from
their suppliers.


--

Julie S

Deep Frayed Morgues

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 18:09:03 +0000, Julie <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 14:15:58 GMT, Deep Frayed Morgues
    ><deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:
    >>In London I have bought produce in Chinatown, Camden market, Fulham
    >>market, and in all the supermarkets around. I have never found a
    >>decent tomato, and the capsicum peppers taste suspiciously like water.
    >>Broccoli is rarely crisp, and also flavourless. Also, chicken is
    >>usually packed full of water too, however that is achieved, I don't
    >>know.
    >It's injected. Try buying organic, free-range chicken from a decent
    >butcher and you'll really see the difference.

I guess I am just wondering why I should need to. It's just another
indicator of Londoners ability to put up with any crappy food. Plus
the price of organic stuff in London is pretty horrendous!

    >>Any decent cheese always comes from the continent too.
    >So you've tried all 700+ cheeses produced in the UK?

Yes, every one of them.

Seriously, they are overpriced and underquality compared to
Dutch/French/Italian cheeses. There is a reason why the UK is not
reknowned for its cheese, and that is because much better stuff is
available nearby.

(geez, I'm throwing a lot of crap at the UK lately! Perhaps I should
remark on some of the things I like about the place, kind of as a
counterbalance!)
--
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DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
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